Roberto Mancini says Nigel de Jong is just 'naturally competitive'

Manchester City's manager Roberto Mancini has defended Nigel de Jong after the midfielder was dropped from the Holland squad to face Moldova and Sweden this week.

De Jong had already arrived in the Netherlands when he was told that the Holland manager, Bert van Marwijk, had removed him from the squad. Van Marwijk said he took the decision after seeing De Jong's tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa on Sunday, which left the Newcastle United player with a broken leg.